G1 Jockey (Wii) Review
The G1 Jockey series has a long pedigree during the lifetime of the PS2 as one of the best horse racing simulations, admittedly it’s a very niche market and not many people care for it or the only interest they have is having a go picking horses colours for the Melbourne cup and hoping they get lucky. But if you interest is horse racing is bigger then that you going to get a lot more out of the game then someone who doesnt. G1 Jockey Wii is a very complicated game, and even on easy the Wii controls dont go easy on you, the learning curve is tremendously high, but if you stick with it youll find a deep and rewarding game thats just let down by a few points.
Lets be clear, the game is a PS2 port through and through; the graphics will attest to that straight away, as well the interface which uses the D-pad for movement and no pointer functions and at times this makes it had to navigate. At this point you might be wondering what just G1 Jockey is all about, sure its complicated and its a PS2 port but whatever, its a horse racing simulation but its also a very deep RPG which tells your story. Thankfully there are tutorials to get you started.
The start of the game aims to alleviate the complication of both the controls and the RPG mechanics but it feels like an information overdose and when the tutorial is over your thrust into the competitive world of being a jockey. The story of the game a starts off with you being an aspiring young jockey in jockey school, and soon after you take up the reigns (oh more puns, hilarious yes?) youre off onto the big leagues looking for rides in various stables. Eventually youll get to be Mr. or Mrs. popular and youll be booking events left right and centre, but remember you cant be in two places at once, so dont double book yourself. The story is told through a series of conversations and is very reminiscent of an old school Japanese RPG, moving around from place to place through menus and talking to different people. Very old school but it works, so why tamper with it.
The tutorial mode thankfully though is broken down into both advanced and simple controls and you can try every single manoeuvre and element of the controls. So yes its complicated, but fans will stick with it, but others will be perplexed, the simple controls involve a shaking of the nunchuck forward and back for acceleration and deceleration and yes even jump, twisting to steer (if this sounds hard it is, but you can even make it easier by assigning it to the control stick and buttons). Wii Remote in the right hand acts likes the whip (and its really natural), whipping to drive the horse onward is done with a whip motion, you can feign whip as well. Finding a balance between driving your horse (as in pushing it, not actually driving, you ride a horse obviously) and not whipping the crap out of it, the race is a strategy and in the end your riding can only do so much as not only is every horse different but because of that difference youll need to ride each hose different. The horses have different natures and some are set for long distance, some sprint better, some start off better but fade and when you choose your horse either in story mode or in single race you can see all their stats.
So as youve heard so far its nowhere near pick up and play and its a shame because there is a two player mode but if youve played it long enough to get used to it and then you bring someone else into the mix its a struggle to get them to learn it. You can play a few games and truck along kicking their behind and you will or they will just give up, which is a shame but sticking with it bears fruit. There is also single race mode where you like the mode name suggest race a single race with any horses (and there is like a proverbial crap load of them) any course (like Nascar they are pretty much the same except for the length of scenery) and also the amount of horses in the field.
Ah yes the field, the course, the track, that magical place where your Dad take you on a Saturday and you watch the horses go around and around while he screams YOU BEATUY if he wins and something that I cant publish if he loses. But no there is nothing like that here the courses in G1 jockey lack life, sure not every race meeting is a bustling as the Melbourne cup or when the spring carnival but its very lifeless and so is the crux of the games graphics, they do their job but are very uninspiring, the horses do look great though. Sound is lacking something, no music is there, there is no voice acting but it doesnt need it, there are music and crowd noises, but there is no race caller and for me thats just takes away half the fun. What music there is are upbeat midi tunes, nothing too special but they get the job done and they wont make your ears bleed which is a plus. The games menus we touched on earlier; they are very convoluted but like the game its self youll get the hang of them after awhile. You can tell it was shoe horned to the Wii remote though as there is no pointer function.
G1 Jockey is an excellent horse racing simulator, its perhaps harder than it should be but once you crack the shell its a load of fun, youve just got to have the patience to stick with it. Perhaps for the next one they should take more of the Wii philosophy onboard and while keeping the simulation aspect make it easier to use because the Wii controls dont add too much to it and the graphics are very simple. If youre a fan of horse racing youll love it, and if youre not you might learn to, best to rent and see how you go with it.
